The Mountainous Ten soccer season kicks off tonight after months of a “will they, acquired’t they” legend.
The philosophize of play: Each team will play eight usual season games, culminating in a ninth, injurious-divisional matchup on Dec. 19 (i.e. the Mountainous Ten Championship, but additionally No. 2 East vs. No. 2 West, and so forth.).
- Due to of the gradual initiate up, the season isn’t handiest condensed but additionally has no initiate calendar slots. So any COVID-linked postponement will probably lead to cancellation and the game may per chance be declared “no contest.”
- To this point, 10.6% of games nationally enjoy been postponed. If that holds, six Mountainous Ten games may per chance be lost, and cancellations for playoff contenders may per chance be in particular negative.
Friday night lights: The Mountainous Ten joins the Pac-12 and Mountain West as conferences usually scheduling Friday games this descend.
- Tonight: Illinois at No. 14 Wisconsin (8pm ET, BTN).
- Tomorrow: Nebraska at No. 5 Ohio Command; Rutgers at Michigan Command; No. 8 Penn Command at Indiana; Iowa at Purdue; No. 18 Michigan at No. 21 Minnesota; Maryland at Northwestern.
- Seven days every week: Add those to Tuesday and Wednesday’s MACtion, Saturday’s usual college slate and the NFL’s Thursday, Sunday and Monday domination and we’re soccer almost each day in November.
Favorites: Five groups enter opening day ranked in the AP poll, but three stand out as the convention’s top contenders.
- No. 5 Ohio Command: The convention’s determined-lower frontrunner has a 68% likelihood to form the Faculty Football Playoff, at the back of handiest Clemson (87%) and Alabama (82%).
- No. 8 Penn Command: Vital pieces are missing, namely LB Micah Parson who opted out to point of curiosity on the draft and RB Hotfoot Brown (medical condition). Nonetheless the closing roster is restful loaded with star energy.
- No. 14 Wisconsin: Placement in the very best contrivance more straightforward Mountainous Ten West provides the Badgers the fourth-easiest CFP odds in the nation (40%). Though they lost returning QB Jack Coan (foot damage), redshirt freshman Graham Mertz is the supreme-rated QB recruit in college history.
Avid gamers to witness:
- Ohio Command QB Justin Fields: If anybody from the Mountainous Ten is going to be troubled Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones for the Heisman, it be Fields (third-space perfect yr).
- Penn Command QB Sean Clifford: He’ll need to form a tall leap after a stunning but unspectacular sophomore advertising and marketing campaign, and incoming OC Kirk Ciarrocca (perfect three years in Minnesota) may per chance be essentially the most main to unlocking his probably.
- Wisconsin RB Nakia Harris: No team has extra successfully maximized a unit than Wisconsin’s running game, worthwhile four of the past eight Doak Walker awards (nation’s easiest RB). Will Harris proceed the custom?
